This invention is directed to a work station at which laboratory animals can be moved from one cage to another and which includes an air flow controller.
Laminar flow work stations are known in the art, such as, for example, Lab Products Inc. model numbers Stay-Clean 30909B and 30910B. Those work stations include a table surface enclosed on three-sides by a hood that extends generally upward from the table surface. That configuration creates a housing about the work surface with one open side thereby limiting access and viewability to the work surface. At least a portion of the work surface is perforated to allow air to flow therethrough. Flow blowers are disposed beneath the surface to cause a negative pressure at the table surface perforations to draw air from the work surface, and front exterior area, in through the work surface to filter the air. In this way, any impurities at the work station which are airborne and likely to contaminate worker and animals at the work station are prevented from reaching the worker or animals. However, air flow in and through the work station is manually set by a user, technician, etc., to provide a relatively fixed air flow in and through the work station.
While such a work station has been satisfactory, the lack of automatic control of the work station environment limits the use of the work station to situations having somewhat more relaxed air control requirements. For example, a work station having such a manually controllable environment may not be usable where a relatively high degree of air control is required.
The present invention is directed to a work station having an environmental controller for maintaining air flow in and through the work station at a user-selected level. The work station includes a pressure cabinet and a perforated work surface forming the top of the pressure cabinet. A pressure inducing assembly is located within the cabinet below the work surface to draw air into the cabinet and create a negative pressure in a work space defined above the work surface. A support coupled to two sides of the pressure cabinet provides a channel for air flow from the pressure cabinet to an air chamber located above the work surface. Air is drawn from the air chamber generally downward toward the work surface by the negative pressure created in the work space to provide an air curtain substantially surrounding the work surface.
The work station of the present invention may be a single- or double-sided work station. In a single-sided embodiment, user access to the work surface is from one side of the station, and simultaneously from both sides in a double-sided embodiment.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.